Joey Warner is a 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end from Birmingham Brother Rice. He has interest from several programs in the Mid-American Conference, including Central Michigan. Along with the Chippewas, Buffalo, Western Michigan, Ball State, Toledo and Dayton are showing interest in the Birmingham native. Buffalo is the only school that has offered to this point.

While every other school that is recruiting him wants him as a tight end, CMU is recruiting him to play defensive end. Warner has been talking to the Chippewas since last spring and he was at their camp this summer.

"It's good. I talked to them a lot during last year and I went to their camp this summer. I'm going to send them my highlights and go from there. I liked Central when I went and visited the campus, so we'll see what happens."

The Brother Rice senior is expecting to get more offers soon, especially because teams are only now getting their first look at him as a defensive end. He did not play defense as a junior, which is why interest in him as been mainly as a tight end to this point. As teams start to get a look at his tape from this year, he is expecting to gain some interest on that side of the ball.

Warner, who also plays basketball and lacrosse, played on both sides of the ball for a talented Brother Rice team this fall that won the Division 2 MHSAA State Championship. In the championship on November 25, Warner had a 23 yard reception, along with two tackles and 1.5 sacks.

"It was awesome. We worked four years for it and it was a dream come true. It was amazing. Playing for Brother Rice is amazing. Every single week, you're playing against the top competition in the state. We finished fourth in our league and we won the state championship. It really is the best league in the state and it's truly fun to play in."

The teams that finished ahead of Brother Rice were Orchard Lakes St. Mary's, who won the Division 3 state title, Detroit Catholic Central, who lost to Detroit Cass Tech in the Division 1 state championship, and Warren De La Salle, who lost to Cass Tech in the regional championship.

One of his teammates is 2012 CMU commit, offensive lineman Dylan Anderson,. Another teammate of his is Northern Illinois commit, running back Devin Church.

"It's fun because everyone can contribute. There are a lot of big time players who are really incredible like Devin Church and Jon Reschke, really everybody. It was fun to play with them."

The man that is associated with Brother Rice football more than anybody is legendary head coach Al Fracassa. Warner says that it is an honor to play for Coach Fracassa and getting him his eighth state title was a significant goal for them this year.

"It's great playing for Coach Fracassa. We got him his 400th win this year and his eighth state championship, so that was really special. It was really important to us to get him a state championship."

Along with CMU, Warner has also visited Western Michigan. He is planning to go to Buffalo soon. As far as his official visits are concerned, he is waiting to see who is interested in him after they see his film from this year.

He does not have a set timetable as far as when he wants to make a verbal commitment and wants to take his time with the process. However, he does know what is important to him in a program and what he wants to do once he does decide on a school.

"Academics are important, so is the overall environment at the school, and I want to feel comfortable with the coaching. I want to see what fits for me and what I'm comfortable with. When I get to wherever I'm going, I just want come in and work hard and hopefully earn a starting spot and help win championships."

Stick to ChippewaCountry for the latest in CMU athletics and recruiting